Euser could have continued in the race — and maybe gone on to win — but instead he quit the race and rushed to Phinney’s aid. For his selflessness, the U.S. Olympic announced on Monday that he will be the recipient of its annual Jack Kelly Fair Play Award, but for Euser it was a no-brainer.

“It never occurred to me to get another bike,” Euser said Monday. “It never occurred to me to continue the race.”

Fans cheer on the peloton as it moves through The Narrows in Boulder Canyon up Highway 119 toward Flagstaff Mountain.

BOULDER — Observations at the USA Pro Challenge after Stage 6 from Golden to Boulder:

* It doesn’t match the views coming up the French Alps or Pyrenees in the Tour de France, but the view going up Flagstaff Mountain must be the best in American cycling. To your left as you climb up you see a vast valley running along the Rocky Mountain foothills. From on top at the amphetheater where they held the press conference, you saw all of Boulder County. The University of Colorado’s campus never looked prettier.

LONDON — Taylor Phinney’s chances for a medal in Wednesday’s Olympic cycling time trial might improve if Switzerland’s defending champion, Fabian Cancellara, doesn’t improve from the crash that hurt his right hand during Saturday’s road race.

Doctors would determine Monday if he was fit after a ride. From the sounds of it, he’s getting better.

The 31-year-old, who fractured a collarbone during the Tour of Flanders in April, was quoted in The Independent: “I am an optimist and now I hope the training (Monday) will show if the position on the time-trial bike suits me and if I can go forward.

MODESTO, Calif. — Taylor Phinney admitted it Tuesday. At times cycling in the cold and the rain and the wind of this Tour of California, he has sidled up to some other former track cyclists and said, “You know, a velodrome sounds nice right now.”

But the two-time world pursuit champion is holding his own in his American pro road racing debut. His eighth-place finish in Tuesday’s Stage 3 puts him in seventh place overall, 10 seconds back of early leader Greg Henderson of New Zealand and Sky Pro Cycling (Great Britain).